JP4900282B2 - Online system, transmission rate adjustment server, relay server, host computer, bandwidth adjustment method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an online system composed of a host computer, a plurality of relay servers, and a terminal device accommodated in the relay server, and in particular, the limited bandwidth of the network connecting the host computer and the relay server is effective. The present invention relates to a bandwidth control technology that uses and provides a homogeneous network service to each terminal device.

  Consists of a host computer (sometimes simply referred to as a host), a relay server, and a terminal device (sometimes simply referred to as a terminal) accommodated in the relay server. An on-line system that performs processing according to a transaction request in a host is known conventionally (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, an online system in which a plurality of relay servers are provided in order to reduce the load on the relay server is conventionally known.

JP 2007-108992 A

  By the way, in an online system having a plurality of relay servers as described above, the total value of transaction traffic input from each terminal exceeds the bandwidth of the network between the relay server and the host, and the bandwidth of the network exceeds that. When excess traffic flows in, a packet that cannot be relayed by a switching hub or router that is a component of the network is discarded, and packet retransmission processing is performed at the source node of the discarded packet. In addition, in a protocol for avoiding congestion such as TCP, processing for avoiding congestion such as temporarily narrowing the number of packets (window size) transmitted at a time without confirmation response is performed.

  In this way, when traffic exceeding the bandwidth flows into the network, packets are discarded, and retransmission processing and congestion avoidance processing are performed, so that the limited bandwidth of the network cannot be effectively used. For this reason, a mechanism is required to prevent the traffic exceeding the bandwidth from flowing into the network. However, Patent Document 1 does not describe this point at all.

  In order to prevent the traffic flowing into the network from exceeding the network bandwidth, for example, a transmission rate control means is arranged in front of the transmission means of each relay server, and the network bandwidth is divided by the number of relay servers. A method is conceivable in which the transmission rate thus determined is set in the transmission rate control means of each relay server. The transmission rate control unit is a unit that adjusts the transmission interval of the packets constituting the message based on a technique called pacing, and transmits the packet at a preset transmission rate.

  Although this method can also prevent inflow of traffic exceeding the network bandwidth, generally, the number of terminals accommodated by each relay server is different, so the network bandwidth is divided by the number of relay servers for each relay server. When the transmission rate is allocated, there is a problem that the service level that the terminal can receive varies depending on the relay server accommodated.

(Object of invention)
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a homogeneous network service to each terminal device by effectively using a limited bandwidth of the network even when the number of accommodated terminals differs for each relay server. is there.

The first online system according to the present invention is:
A plurality of relay servers accommodating the terminal device, a host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server, and a transmission rate adjustment An online system with a server,
The transmission rate adjustment server is
A terminal number investigation means for examining the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server for each relay server;
The transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers to the network is proportional to the number of terminal devices for each relay server investigated by the terminal number examining means, and the total value of the transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers is the bandwidth of the network Transmission rate adjustment means for determining the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers, so as not to exceed
The plurality of relay servers are respectively
Transmission rate control means for transmitting packets to the network at a transmission rate determined by the transmission rate adjustment server is provided.

The first transmission rate adjustment server according to the present invention is:
A plurality of relay servers containing terminal devices;
A host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server;
A transmission rate adjustment server in an online system having a transmission rate adjustment server as a component,
A terminal number investigation means for examining the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server for each relay server;
The transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers to the network is proportional to the number of terminal devices for each relay server investigated by the terminal number examining means, and the total value of the transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers is the bandwidth of the network The transmission rate adjustment means for determining the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers is provided.

The first relay server according to the present invention is:
A plurality of relay servers containing terminal devices;
A host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server;
Terminal number investigation means for examining the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server for each relay server, and terminal devices for each relay server in which the transmission rate for each of the plurality of relay servers to the network is investigated by the terminal number investigation means A transmission rate adjustment server that includes a transmission rate adjustment unit that determines the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers so that the total value of the transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed the bandwidth of the network. A relay server in an online system having
Transmission rate control means for transmitting packets to the network at a transmission rate determined by the transmission rate adjustment server is provided.

A first host computer according to the present invention includes:
A plurality of relay servers containing terminal devices;
A host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server;
The number-of-terminals investigation means for examining the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server for each relay server, and the transmission rate for each network of the plurality of relay servers for each relay server investigated by the number-of-terminals investigation means When the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers is determined in proportion to the number of devices and the total transmission rate of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed the bandwidth of the network, and a down notification is received, A transmission rate adjustment server comprising transmission rate adjustment means for assigning a transmission rate of the relay server specified by the name included in the down notification to an active relay server among the plurality of servers; A host computer in an online system
Transaction in which message transmission / reception associated with the execution of a transaction is performed with a relay server, and when message transmission / reception fails, a down notification including the name of the relay server that failed to transmit / receive the message is transmitted to the transmission rate adjustment server An execution means is provided.

The first bandwidth adjustment method according to the present invention includes:
A plurality of relay servers accommodating the terminal device, a host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server, and a transmission rate adjustment A bandwidth adjustment method in an online system including a server,
The transmission rate adjustment server investigates the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server for each relay server;
The transmission rate adjustment server is such that the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers to the network is proportional to the number of terminal devices for each relay server investigated by the terminal number examining means, and the transmission rate of the plurality of relay servers is A transmission rate adjustment step for determining the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers so that the total value does not exceed the bandwidth of the network;
The transmission server includes a transmission rate control step in which the plurality of relay servers transmit packets to the network at a transmission rate transmitted from the transmission rate adjustment server.

The first program according to the present invention is:
A plurality of relay servers containing terminal devices;
A host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server;
A program for realizing a transmission rate adjustment server in an online system having a transmission rate adjustment server as a component by a computer,
The computer,
A terminal number investigation means for examining the number of terminal devices accommodated by the relay server for each relay server;
The transmission rate of the plurality of relay servers to the network is proportional to the number of terminal devices investigated by the terminal number examining means, and the total value of the transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed the bandwidth of the network. , And functioning as transmission rate adjusting means for determining the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers.

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, even when the number of accommodated terminals is different for each relay server, it is possible to provide a uniform network service to each terminal device by effectively using a limited bandwidth of the network. Can be obtained.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment of the present invention]
Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of an online system according to the present invention includes a plurality of relay servers 1, a transmission rate adjustment server 2, a plurality of hosts 3, a plurality of terminals 4, and a network 5. Consists of. In this embodiment, the terminal 4 inputs a transaction request to the relay server 1 that accommodates the terminal 4, and the relay server 1 distributes the input transaction request to the host 3, and follows the transaction request at the distribution destination host. The transmission rate adjustment server 2 is added to an online system having a three-layer structure that executes processing. In FIG. 1, the number of relay servers 1 and hosts 3 is plural, but may be one.

  One relay server 1 can accommodate a plurality of terminals 4. The connection between the relay server 1 and the terminal 4 may use a network independent of the network 5 or may be directly connected by a signal line or the like.

  The relay server 1, the transmission rate adjustment server 2, and the host 3 are connected via a network 5 and can communicate with each other.

  The network 5 includes a line concentrator 511 and a line concentrator 512, and the line concentrator 511 and the line concentrator 512 are connected by a link 521. The line concentrator 511 and each relay server 1 are connected by links 531 to 533, respectively. The line concentrator 511 and the transmission rate adjustment server 2 are connected by a link 534. Further, the line concentrator 512 and each host 3 are connected by links 541 to 543, respectively. Each link 521, 531-534, 541-543 enables full-duplex communication.

  The line concentrators 511 and 512 have a function of collecting a plurality of links and sending out a traffic flowing in from each link to a transfer destination link, and corresponds to a switching hub or a router in the Internet. Since the object of the present invention is to effectively use the limited network resources, the network 5 has a total traffic to the host 3 flowing from the relay server 1 to the concentrator 511 between the concentrators 511 and 512. It is presupposed that it is larger than the bandwidth of. That is, the sum of the transmission bands of the link 531, the link 532, and the link 533 is larger than the band of the link 521.

[Configuration of Relay Server 1]
Referring to FIG. 2, the relay server 1 includes a network connection unit 111, a transmission rate control unit 112, a reception unit 113, a transmission unit 114, a transaction distribution unit 115, a terminal accommodation unit 116, and a transmission rate setting unit. 121, a terminal number investigation response unit 122, a transmission rate adjustment request unit 123, a transmission rate setting area 131 that is a storage area, and a terminal number holding area 132. Each of the means 111 to 116 and 121 to 123 described above is realized by causing a computer to read a relay server program recorded on a disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like, and controlling the operation of the computer with the program.

  The network connection unit 111 is a unit that connects the relay server 1 to the network 5.

  The receiving unit 113 is a unit that receives a message from an arbitrary node connected to the network 5.

  The transmission unit 114 is a unit that transmits a message to an arbitrary node connected to the network 5.

  The transmission rate setting area 131 is an area for holding the value of the transmission rate instructed to the transmission rate control means 112, and is realized, for example, on a disk device.

  The transmission rate control means 112 is a means for controlling the transmission interval of the packets constituting the message transmitted from the transmission means 114 and transmitting the message at the transmission rate specified in the transmission rate setting area 131. This is called pacing. Realized based on the technology The control object of the transmission interval of the transmission rate control means 112 is the traffic of the transaction transmitted to the host.

  The terminal accommodating means 116 is means for accommodating the terminal 4. The terminal accommodating unit 116 has a function of connecting the relay server 1 and the terminal 4 and mediates message transmission / reception between the terminal 4 and the transaction distribution unit 115. Further, the terminal accommodating means 116 has a function of recording the current number of terminals in the terminal number holding area 132, and updates the terminal number holding area 132 every time the number of terminals accommodated increases or decreases. Keep up to date. The terminal number holding area 132 is provided on a disk device, for example.

  The transaction distribution unit 115 is a unit that receives a transaction request input from the terminal 4 from the terminal accommodation unit 116, determines an optimal host that can execute the transaction, and transmits the transaction using the transmission unit 114. The transaction distribution method of the transaction distribution unit 115 is not limited and may be arbitrarily selected by the online system builder.

  When the transmission rate setting unit 121 receives a “transmission rate instruction message” indicating a transmission rate change instruction from the transmission rate adjustment 2 server, the transmission rate setting unit 121 sets the value of the transmission rate stored in the “transmission rate instruction message”. It is a means for changing the transmission rate of the transaction transmitted from the relay server 1 by extracting and setting it in the transmission rate setting area 131.

  The terminal number investigation response unit 122 investigates the number of terminals accommodated in the terminal accommodation unit 116 when receiving a “terminal number investigation message” which means an instruction for investigation of the number of terminals from the transmission rate adjustment server 2. This is a means for returning a “survey response message” which means a response to the survey. The number of terminals is checked by reading the number of terminals from the number-of-terminals holding area 132, and the number of checked terminals is stored in a “check response message” and returned to the transmission rate adjustment server 2.

  The transmission rate adjustment requesting means 123 checks the terminal number holding area 132 at regular time intervals, and when there is an increase or decrease in the number of terminals, the transmission rate adjustment request means 123 indicates a transmission rate adjustment request to the transmission rate adjustment server 2. It is a means for transmitting a “message”.

[Configuration of Transmission Rate Adjustment Server 2]
Referring to FIG. 3, the transmission rate adjustment server 2 includes a network connection unit 211, a transmission unit 212, a reception unit 213, a terminal number investigation unit 221, a transmission rate adjustment unit 222, and a transmission rate management that is a storage area. The computer system includes the area 23. The above-described means 211 to 213, 221 and 222 are realized by causing a computer to read a transmission rate adjustment server program recorded on a recording medium such as a disk or a semiconductor memory, and controlling the operation of the computer using the program.

  FIG. 4 shows the structure of the transmission rate management area 23. The transmission rate management area 23 includes a relay server management table 231 and a total transmission rate table 232.

  The relay server management table 231 is a table for managing the number of terminals that each relay server 1 accommodates, and includes a relay server name field and a terminal number field. The relay server name field is a field for setting the relay server name of the relay server 1 whose transmission rate is to be adjusted, and must be set in advance by the administrator of the online system. The relay server name is a name that can uniquely identify the relay server 1 in the network, and corresponds to a host name on the Internet. The terminal number field is a field in which the investigation result is stored for each relay server by the terminal number investigation means 221. When an invalid value such as -1 is stored in the number of terminals, it indicates that the investigation of the number of terminals of the relay server has not been completed.

  The total transmission rate table 232 is a one-line table including only the total transmission rate field. The total transmission rate is a value that should be the sum of the transmission rates of all relay servers. The administrator of the online system needs to set in advance, and in the configuration of the network 5, the bandwidth of the link 521 is set.

  Referring to FIG. 3 again, the network connection unit 211 is a unit for connecting the transmission rate adjustment server 2 to the network 5.

  The receiving unit 213 is a unit that receives a message from an arbitrary node connected to the network 5. When the message is received, the source address information can be obtained.

  The transmission unit 212 is a unit that transmits a message to an arbitrary node connected to the network 5.

  The terminal number examining means 221 is used by the transmission rate adjusting means 222. The terminal number checking means 221 is a means for checking the number of terminals of all relay servers registered in the relay server management table 231 of the transmission rate management area 23 by exchanging messages.

  The terminal number investigation means 221 transmits a “terminal number investigation message” to all the registered relay servers 1. Thereafter, the terminal number investigation means 221 receives the “investigation response message” returned from the relay server 1. Since the investigation response message includes the number of terminals investigated by the relay server 1 as the transmission source, it is extracted and stored in the terminal number field of the corresponding relay server in the relay server management table 231. The terminal number investigation means 221 completes the investigation of the number of terminals when the “investigation response message” is received from all the relay servers 1.

  The transmission rate adjusting unit 222 is a unit that adjusts the transmission rate of all the relay servers 1 by exchanging messages in response to a request for adjusting the transmission rate from the relay server 1.

  When the transmission rate adjustment unit 222 receives the “transmission rate adjustment request message” from the relay server 1, the transmission rate adjustment unit 222 uses the terminal number checking unit 221 to check the number of terminals of all the relay servers 1. The transmission rate adjusting unit 222 adjusts the transmission rate after waiting for completion of the investigation by the terminal number examining unit 221. The transmission rate is adjusted by referring to the number of terminals stored in the relay server management table 231 by the terminal number checking means 221 and the value of the total transmission rate set in the total transmission rate table 232. The value of the transmission rate of each relay server 1 is determined by allocating the value of the total transmission rate by the ratio of the number of terminals of each relay server 1. The transmission rate adjusting means 222 stores the value of the transmission rate determined for each relay server 1 in the “transmission rate instruction message” and transmits it to each relay server 1.

[Configuration of host 3]
Referring to FIG. 5, the host 3 is a computer system including a network connection unit 31, a transmission unit 32, a reception unit 33, a transaction execution unit 34, and a database 35, and is a general online system transaction execution platform. is there. In the present embodiment, the host 3 operates independently of the transmission rate changing mechanism, so only an overview will be described.

  The network connection means 31 is means for connecting the host 3 to the network 5.

  The transmission unit 32 is a unit that transmits a message to an arbitrary node connected to the network 5.

  The receiving unit 33 is a unit that receives a message from an arbitrary node connected to the network 5.

  The transaction execution unit 34 is a unit that executes a transaction corresponding to the received transaction request. The transaction updates the database 35 if necessary. In addition, the transaction uses the transmission means 32 if necessary, and transmits a response message to the transaction input source.

[Description of Operation of First Embodiment]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail.

  First, the operation of the relay server 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 6 is an operation example of the transmission rate adjustment requesting means 123, FIG. 7 is an operation example of the terminal number investigation response means 122, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the transmission rate setting means 121. Each means 121-123 operates in parallel.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the transmission rate adjustment requesting means 123 initializes the PREV variable, which means the previous number of terminals, with an invalid value in step A1. As the invalid value, for example, -1, which is a value that the number of terminals cannot take, is adopted. The PREV variable is a variable secured in a local area of the transmission rate adjustment request unit 123, and is used by the transmission rate adjustment request unit 123 to detect an increase or decrease in the number of terminals.

  In step A2, the current number of terminals accommodated in the relay server 1 is acquired with reference to the terminal number holding area 132. When 1000 terminals are accommodated in the relay server 1, “1000” is obtained as the number of terminals.

  In step A3, the current number of terminals “1000” acquired in step A2 is compared with the value “−1” of the PREV variable. If the values are different, it is considered that the number of terminals has changed, and the process proceeds to step A4. If the values are the same, it is considered that the number of terminals has not changed, and the process proceeds to step A6. Note that when the step A3 is executed for the first time, since the PREV variable is initialized with an invalid value, the process proceeds to step A4.

  In step A4, the current number of terminals “1000” acquired in step A2 is stored in the PREV variable to prepare for the determination of the change in the number of terminals performed in the next step A3.

  In step A5, a “transmission rate adjustment request message” is transmitted to the transmission rate adjustment server 2.

  Step A6 stops the processing for a fixed time. The reason for stopping the process is to reduce the network load by providing a “transmission rate adjustment request message” with a transmission interval of a certain time or more. The time to stop processing must be determined in advance according to the online system. A relatively short time is appropriate for a system with a large change in the number of terminals, and a relatively long time is appropriate for a system with a small change in the number of terminals.

  After stopping for a certain period of time in step A6, the process returns to step A2 and proceeds to a process for checking the increase or decrease in the number of terminals.

  Referring to FIG. 7, the terminal number investigation response unit 122 waits for reception of the “terminal number investigation message” from the transmission rate adjustment server 2 in step B <b> 1.

  In Step B2, the current number of terminals accommodated in the relay server 1 is acquired with reference to the terminal number holding area 132. When 1000 terminals are accommodated in the relay server, “1000” is obtained as the number of terminals.

  In step B 3, the number of terminals “1000” acquired in step B 2 is stored in “investigation response message” and returned to the transmission rate adjustment server 2.

  After returning the “survey response message”, the process returns to step B1 to prepare for the next reception process of the “terminal number survey message”.

  Referring to FIG. 8, the transmission rate setting means 121 waits for reception of a “transmission rate instruction message” from the transmission rate adjustment server 2 in step C1.

  In step C2, the value of the transmission rate is extracted from the “transmission rate instruction message”. The value of the transmission rate is a value determined in step E4 (see FIG. 10) of the transmission rate adjustment unit 222 of the transmission rate adjustment server 2. If the transmission rate allocated to the relay server is 500 Mbps, “500 Mbps” is obtained as the value of the transmission rate.

  In Step C3, the transmission rate value “500 Mbps” obtained in Step C2 is set in the transmission rate setting area 131. After the change of the value, the transmission rate of the transaction transmitted from the relay server 1 to the host 3 is changed to 500 Mbps by the operation of the transmission rate control means 112.

  After changing the transmission rate, the process returns to step C1 to prepare for reception of the next “transmission rate instruction message”.

    Next, the operation of the transmission rate adjustment server 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is an operation example of the terminal number checking means 221, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the transmission rate adjusting means 222. The terminal number checking unit 221 is a unit that is called synchronously from the transmission rate adjusting unit 222 and returns control to the transmission rate adjusting unit 222 when the checking of the number of terminals of all the relay servers 1 is completed.

  Referring to FIG. 9, the terminal number examining means 221 initializes the terminal number fields of all the rows in the relay server management table 231 with the invalid value −1 in step D1. The reason for initializing the number-of-terminals field with an invalid value is that if the number of terminals of the relay server 1 for which the investigation of the number of terminals has not been completed is marked with an invalid value, the invalid value line disappears from the relay server management table 231. This is because it can be recognized that the investigation of all the relay servers 1 has been completed.

  In step D2, the “number of terminals survey message” is transmitted to all relay servers registered in the relay server management table 231. For example, “relay server A” is displayed on the first line of the relay server management table 231, “relay server B” is displayed on the second line, “relay server C” is displayed on the third line, and “relay server D” is displayed on the fourth line. Is registered, “terminal number survey message” is transmitted to “relay server A”, “relay server B”, “relay server C”, and “relay server D”.

  In step D 3, it waits for reception of an “investigation response message” from the relay server 1.

  In step D4, the investigation result of the number of terminals from the relay server 1 is stored in the relay server management table 231.

  In step D4, the number of terminals of the relay server 1 is extracted from the “survey response message” received in step D3 first. Next, the relay server name field of the relay server management table 231 is searched with the relay server name of the transmission source of the “survey response message”, and the invalid value in the terminal number field of the matching row is updated with the acquired number of terminals. To do. For example, when the “survey response message” is received from the relay server B accommodating 800 terminals, the number of terminals “800” can be extracted from the message. When the relay server name field of the relay server management table 231 is searched for “relay server B”, the second line matches, so the terminal number field in that line is updated to “800”.

  In step D5, it is determined whether or not the investigation of the number of terminals has been completed. The number of terminals in all rows of the relay server management table 231 is inspected, and if one or more invalid values set in step D1 remain, the number of terminals has not been investigated, so the process returns to step D3. Prepare for the reception of the next "survey response message". If no invalid value remains, the “survey response message” has been received from all the relay servers, so the investigation of the number of terminals is completed and control is returned to the transmission rate adjustment means 222 of the caller.

  Referring to FIG. 10, the transmission rate adjusting means 222 waits for reception of a “transmission rate adjustment request message” from the relay server 1 in step E1.

  In step E2, the current time is acquired, and the time difference from the PREV variable in which the latest transmission rate adjustment time is recorded is calculated to obtain the elapsed time from the latest transmission rate adjustment time. The PREV variable is a variable secured in a local area of the transmission rate adjusting unit 222. If the elapsed time is equal to or longer than a certain time, the process proceeds to step E3. On the other hand, if the elapsed time is less than the predetermined time, the transmission rate adjustment request is ignored and the process returns to step E1 to prepare for reception of the next “transmission rate adjustment request message”.

  Here, the reason for not processing a plurality of “transmission rate adjustment request messages” within a certain period of time is to reduce the load on the relay server 1 and the network 5 associated with the transmission / reception of the “terminal number check message” and the “check response message”. It is. A certain time, which means the minimum adjustment interval of the transmission rate, needs to be determined in advance according to the online system. A relatively short time is appropriate for a system with a large change in the number of terminals, and a relatively long time is appropriate for a system with a small change in the number of terminals.

  In step E2, for example, when the current time is 12:34:56 and the value of PREV is 12:33:56, the elapsed time from the previous adjustment time is 60 seconds, so the shortest adjustment interval is In the case of 30 seconds, the process proceeds to step E3, and the transmission rate is adjusted. If the shortest adjustment interval is 120 seconds, the process returns to step E1 and the transmission rate is not adjusted.

  In step E3, the number-of-terminals survey unit 221 is called and control is passed to the number-of-terminals survey unit 221. When the investigation of all relay servers is completed (NO in step D5 in FIG. 9), the terminal number examining means 221 returns control to the transmission rate adjusting means 222.

  In step E4, the transmission rate assigned to each relay server 1 is calculated from the number of terminals of each relay server 1 investigated by the terminal number examining means 221 in step E3 and the value of the total transmission rate set in the total transmission rate table 232. To do. The transmission rate of each relay server 1 is determined by allocating the value of the total transmission rate in proportion to the number of terminals of each relay server 1.

  For example, in the relay server management table 231, the number of terminals of “relay server A” is “1000”, the number of terminals of “relay server B” is “800”, and the number of terminals of “relay server C” is “200”. When the number of terminals of “relay server D” is “0” and the total transmission rate value of the total transmission rate table is set to 1000 Mbps, the transmission rate of “relay server A” is set to “500 Mbps”, The transmission rate of “Server B” is determined as “400 Mbps”, the transmission rate of “Relay Server C” is determined as “100 Mbps”, and the transmission rate of “Relay Server D” is determined as “0 Mbps”.

  In step E5, the transmission rate determined in step E4 is stored in the “transmission rate instruction message”. According to the distribution result in step E4 described above, "500 Mbps" is stored in the "transmission rate instruction message" transmitted to "relay server A", and the "transmission rate instruction message" transmitted to "relay server B" , “400 Mbps” is stored and “100 Mbps” is stored in the “transmission rate instruction message” transmitted to the “relay server C”, and “transmission rate instruction message” transmitted to the “relay server D” is “ Stores “0Mbps”.

  In step E6, the “transmission rate instruction message” prepared in step E5 is transmitted to each relay server 1.

  Step E7 records the current time as the latest transmission rate adjustment time in the PREV variable, returns to step E1, and prepares for the reception of the next “transmission rate adjustment request message”.

[Effect of the first embodiment]
According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  The first effect is that even if the number of accommodated terminals is different for each relay server, a homogeneous network service can be provided to each terminal device by effectively utilizing a limited bandwidth of the network. The reason why a homogeneous network service can be provided to each terminal device is that the transmission rate adjustment means 222 in the transmission rate adjustment server 2 makes the transmission rate of each relay server 1 proportional to the number of terminals accommodated in each relay server 1. It is because it is adjusted to do. By making the transmission rate of each relay server 1 proportional to the number of terminals accommodated in the relay server 1, the transmission rate per terminal becomes equal in any relay server 1. The relay time of the transaction request to is made uniform. The reason why the network bandwidth of the online system can be effectively used is that the transmission rate adjustment means 222 in the transmission rate adjustment server 2 determines that the total transmission rates of all the relay servers 1 are the same between the relay server 1 and the host 3. This is because the network 5 is adjusted so as not to exceed the bandwidth of the network 5 and the packet discard due to congestion does not occur in the network 5. Since packet discard does not occur, the retransmission processing of the packet discarded in the transmission processing of the relay server 1 and the congestion avoidance algorithm do not operate, and the bandwidth of the network 5 can be used effectively.

  The second effect is that it is not necessary to manually set the transmission rate of the relay server 1. The reason is that each relay server 1 monitors changes in the number of terminals accommodated by itself, and when it detects a change in the number of terminals, autonomously requests the transmission rate adjustment server 2 to adjust the transmission rate. is there.

[Second Embodiment of the Present Invention]
Next, a second embodiment of the online system according to the present invention will be described.

  First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the transmission rate adjustment server 2 cannot recognize that the relay server 1 is down. Therefore, even if there is a relay server 1 that is down and cannot relay transactions. The transmission rate of the relay server 1 that has been down cannot be assigned to the relay server 1 that is in operation. If the transmission rate adjustment server 2 monitors the operation of the relay server by communication in order to assign the transmission rate of the relay server 1 that has been down to the relay server 1 that is in operation, between the transmission rate adjustment server 2 and the relay server 1. Therefore, it is necessary to exchange messages for operation monitoring. In particular, in order to shorten the time during which down can be recognized, it is necessary to shorten the transmission interval of the operation monitoring message, which increases the load on the network 5. In this embodiment, the operation of the relay server 1 is monitored by the host. The reason for performing operation monitoring on the host is that operation monitoring without applying a load to the network 5 can be realized by monitoring a message at the time of executing a transaction. In this embodiment, when the host detects that the relay server 1 is down, the host transmits information specifying the down relay server to the transmission rate adjustment server 2. The transmission rate adjustment server 2 excludes the down relay server 1 from the transmission rate adjustment target, and only the active relay server 1 is the transmission rate adjustment target, thereby reducing the transmission rate of the down relay server 1. Assign to the relay server 1 in operation.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 11, the host 3a used in the present embodiment includes a relay server monitoring unit 36 and a relay server management area 37, and includes a transaction execution unit 34a instead of the transaction execution unit 34. This is different from the host 3 used in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The relay server monitoring unit 36 and the transaction execution unit 34a operate in parallel. Note that the host 3a of the present embodiment can also be realized by a computer in the same manner as the host 3.

  Referring to FIG. 12, the relay server management area 37 provided on the disk or the like includes a relay server management table 371.

  The relay server management table 371 is a table that records a list of relay servers that are subject to operation monitoring and operation status, and includes a relay server name field, a monitoring time field, and an operation status field.

  The relay server name field is a field for registering a relay server to be monitored. The administrator of the online system needs to register the relay server name in advance so that it matches the relay server name registered in the relay server management table 231 of the transmission rate adjustment server 2.

  The monitoring time field and the operation state field are updated by the transaction execution unit 34a and the relay server monitoring unit 36. The monitoring time field is a field for recording the operation monitoring time of the latest relay server. The operation status field is a field for recording the result of the operation monitoring, and records a value meaning “operation” or “down”.

  Referring to FIG. 11 again, the enhancement of the function of the transaction execution means 34a with respect to the transaction execution means 34 is that the operation of the relay server is monitored by monitoring messages transmitted and received during the execution of the transaction. An abnormality in the network between the relay server 1 and the host 3a can be detected when a message is transmitted using the transmission unit 32 or when reception of a message is waited using the reception unit 33. When an abnormality occurs in the network between the relay server 1 and the host 3a, a transaction cannot be input from the relay server 1 to the host 3a, so that the relay server 1 can be regarded as down.

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13, the transaction execution unit 34a confirms the operation of the relay server 1 when the transmission or reception of the message with the relay server 1 is completed (NO in Step F1). The current time is recorded in the monitoring time field of the corresponding relay server in the relay server management table 371, and a value meaning “operating” is recorded in the operation state field (step F2). On the other hand, when message transmission / reception with the relay server 1 fails and a network abnormality is detected (YES in step F1), it is determined that the relay server 1 is down and the relay server management table 371 The current time is recorded in the monitoring time field of the corresponding relay server, and a value meaning “down” is recorded in the operation state field (step F3). Furthermore, in order to prompt the adjustment of the transmission rate, a “down notification message” for notifying the relay server 1 of being down is transmitted to the transmission rate adjustment server 2 (step F4). The “down notification message” stores the relay server name of the relay server that has gone down.

  Further, in a general online system, when a transaction to be executed transmits a response message to the transaction source terminal (YES in step F5), a reception confirmation message for this response message is promptly returned from the relay server. The Therefore, if the reception confirmation message can be received from the relay server within a certain time (YES in step F6), the operation time of the relay server 1 is confirmed and the monitoring time of the corresponding relay server in the relay server management table 371 is confirmed. The current time is recorded in the field, and a value meaning “operation” is recorded in the operation state field (step F7). On the other hand, when the reception confirmation message cannot be received from the relay server 1 within a predetermined time (step F6 is NO), it is determined that the relay server 1 is down, and the corresponding relay server in the relay server management table 371 is detected. The current time is recorded in the monitoring time field, and the value indicating “down” is recorded in the operation state field (step F3). Furthermore, in order to urge the adjustment of the transmission rate, a “down notification message” for notifying that the relay server is down is transmitted to the transmission rate adjustment server 2 (step F4).

  The relay server monitoring unit 36 is a unit that periodically monitors the relay server 1 and notifies the transmission rate adjustment server 2 that the relay server is down when a down is detected. In a system with a long transaction input interval, there is a possibility that a relay server down may not be detected quickly only by operation monitoring at the time of transaction execution. Therefore, periodic operation monitoring is performed supplementarily.

  Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 14, the relay server monitoring unit 36 periodically checks all the rows of the relay server management table 371. The monitoring time field of each row is compared with the current time, and the operation monitoring is performed for the relay server that has not been operated for a predetermined time or longer (YES in steps G1 and G3, G4).

  The operation monitoring in step G4 may be performed based on whether an invalid response message is transmitted to the relay server and a reception confirmation message for the response message can be received within a predetermined time, or a dedicated message for performing operation monitoring. May be defined between the relay server 1 and the host 3a.

  If the operation of the relay server 1 is confirmed (NO in step G5), the current time is recorded in the monitoring time field of the corresponding relay server in the relay server management table 371, and “operation” is indicated in the operation status field. A value is recorded (step G6). In contrast, when down is confirmed (YES in step G5), the current time is recorded in the monitoring time field of the corresponding relay server in the relay server management table 371, and the value indicating “down” in the operation state field. Is recorded (step G7). Further, in order to prompt adjustment of the transmission rate, a “down notification message” for notifying that the relay server is down is transmitted to the transmission rate adjustment server 2 (step G8).

  When there are no unfocused rows in the relay server management table 371 (YES in step G2), the relay server monitoring unit 36 stops for a certain period of time (step G9) and then performs the process of step G1 again.

  Further, the transmission rate adjustment server 2 of the present embodiment enhances the function of the transmission rate adjustment means 222 in order to perform the transmission rate adjustment process even when the “down notification message” from the host 3 is received. In step E1 shown in FIG. 10, the transmission rate adjusting means 222 of this embodiment waits for not only the “transmission rate adjustment request message” but also the “down notification message”. When the “down notification message” is received, the relay server name of the relay server that is down is extracted from the “down notification message” instead of the processing of step E2, and the relay server name of the relay server that is down is extracted from the relay server management table 231. Process to delete the line. As a result, the relay server that is down is excluded from the transmission rate adjustment targets. The processing after step E3 is the same as when the “transmission rate adjustment request message” is received.

[Effects of Second Embodiment]
According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  The first effect is that the transmission rate assigned to the relay server 1 that has been down can be effectively used. The reason is that the transmission rate adjusting means 222 assigns the transmission rate assigned to the relay server 1 that has been down to the relay server in operation.

  The second effect is that a network load for monitoring the operation of the relay server 1 does not occur. The reason is that since a message at the time of executing a transaction is monitored to monitor the operation of the relay server 1, a message for monitoring the operation does not occur.

  The third effect is that it is possible to quickly recognize that the relay server 1 is down. This is because the monitoring interval of the relay server 1 is shortened in a system with high transaction execution frequency because a message at the time of transaction execution is monitored.

  The fourth effect is that it is possible to recognize that the relay server 1 is down even during a period in which no transaction is executed. The reason is that if the operation monitoring at the time of executing the transaction is not performed for a certain period of time, the periodic operation monitoring by the relay server monitoring unit 36 is performed. The relay server monitoring unit 36 exchanges an operation monitoring message with the relay server 1, but since the transaction is not executed, it is not a problem that a load is applied to the network.

  The present invention is preferably applied to an online system including a host computer, a plurality of relay servers, and a plurality of terminal devices accommodated in each relay server.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of whole structure of 1st Embodiment of the online system concerning this invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a relay server 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a transmission rate adjustment server 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a transmission rate management area 23. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a host computer 3. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a transmission rate adjustment requesting means 123. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a terminal number investigation response means 122. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a transmission rate setting unit 121. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a terminal number examining means 221. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a transmission rate adjusting means 222. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the host 3a used by 2nd Embodiment of the online system concerning this invention. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a relay server management area 37. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the transaction execution means 34a. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a relay server monitoring unit 36.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Relay server 111 ... Network connection means 112 ... Transmission rate control means 113 ... Reception means 114 ... Transmission means 115 ... Transaction distribution means 116 ... Terminal accommodation means 121 ... Transmission rate setting means 122 ... Terminal number investigation response means 123 ... Transmission rate Adjustment request means 131 ... Transmission rate setting area 132 ... Terminal number holding area 2 ... Transmission rate adjustment server 211 ... Network connection means 212 ... Transmission means 213 ... Reception means 221 ... Number of terminals investigation means 222 ... Transmission rate adjustment means 23 ... Transmission rate Management area 231 ... Relay server management table 232 ... Total transmission rate table 3, 3a ... Host (host computer)
31 ... Network connection means 32 ... Transmission means 33 ... Reception means 34, 34a ... Transaction execution means 35 ... Database 36 ... Relay server monitoring means 37 ... Relay server management area 371 ... Relay server management table 4 ... Terminal (terminal device)
5 ... Network

Claims (7)

A plurality of relay servers accommodating the terminal device, a host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server, and a transmission rate adjustment An online system with a server,
The transmission rate adjustment server is
In response to the transmission rate adjustment request sent from the relay server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server is determined by transmitting a terminal number investigation request to the plurality of relay servers. A device number survey means to investigate every time,
Each time the number of terminal devices is investigated by the terminal number examining means, the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers to the network is proportional to the number of terminal devices for each relay server examined by the terminal number examining means, and Transmission rate adjustment means for determining the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers so that the total value of the transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed the bandwidth of the network,
The plurality of relay servers are respectively
When there is a change in the number of terminal devices accommodated in the own server, transmission rate adjustment request means for transmitting a transmission rate adjustment request to the transmission rate adjustment server,
A terminal number investigation response means for transmitting, to the transmission rate adjustment server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the own server in response to the terminal number investigation request sent from the transmission rate adjustment server;
An online system comprising transmission rate control means for transmitting packets to the network at a transmission rate determined by the transmission rate adjustment server. The online system according to claim 1 ,
The transmission rate adjustment request means investigates the number of terminal devices accommodated in its own server at regular intervals, and if the number of terminal devices investigated this time is different from the number of terminal devices investigated last time, the transmission rate adjustment server An on-line system characterized by transmitting a transmission rate adjustment request to the system. A transmission rate adjustment server;
A transmission rate adjustment request means for transmitting a transmission rate adjustment request to the transmission rate adjustment server when there is a change in the number of terminal devices that are accommodated by each of the terminal devices, and the transmission rate adjustment server. Terminal number investigation response means for transmitting to the transmission rate adjustment server the number of terminal devices accommodated in its own server in response to the terminal number investigation request sent from the terminal, and the transmission determined by the transmission rate adjustment server A plurality of relay servers with transmission rate control means for transmitting packets to the network at a rate;
A transmission rate adjustment server in an on-line system comprising a host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via the network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server. And
In response to the transmission rate adjustment request sent from the relay server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server is determined by transmitting a terminal number investigation request to the plurality of relay servers. A device number survey means to investigate every time,
Each time the number of terminal devices is investigated by the terminal number examining means, the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers to the network is proportional to the number of terminal devices for each relay server examined by the terminal number examining means, and A transmission rate adjustment server comprising: a transmission rate adjustment unit that determines a transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers so that a total value of transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed a bandwidth of the network. . A plurality of relay servers containing terminal devices;
A host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server;
In response to the transmission rate adjustment request sent from the relay server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server is determined by transmitting a terminal number investigation request to the plurality of relay servers. The number of terminals surveyed every time, and the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers to the network each time the number of terminal devices is investigated by the number of terminals surveying means Transmission rate adjusting means for determining the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers so that the total value of the transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed the bandwidth of the network in proportion to the number of terminal devices for each. A relay server in an online system as a component,
When there is a change in the number of terminal devices accommodated in the own server, transmission rate adjustment request means for transmitting a transmission rate adjustment request to the transmission rate adjustment server,
A terminal number investigation response means for transmitting, to the transmission rate adjustment server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the own server in response to the terminal number investigation request sent from the transmission rate adjustment server;
A relay server comprising transmission rate control means for transmitting packets to the network at a transmission rate determined by the transmission rate adjustment server. A plurality of relay servers accommodating the terminal device, a host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server, and a transmission rate adjustment A bandwidth adjustment method in an online system including a server,
In response to the transmission rate adjustment request sent from the relay server, the transmission rate adjustment server transmits a terminal number investigation request to the plurality of relay servers, so that the relay server accommodates the transmission rate adjustment request. A terminal number investigation step of investigating the number of terminal devices for each relay server;
Each time the transmission rate adjustment server investigates the number of terminal devices in the number-of-terminals investigation step, the transmission rate for each network of the plurality of relay servers is the terminal for each relay server investigated in the number-of-terminals investigation step. A transmission rate adjustment step for determining the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers so that the total value of the transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed the bandwidth of the network in proportion to the number of devices;
A transmission rate adjustment request step for transmitting a transmission rate adjustment request to the transmission rate adjustment server, when the number of terminal devices accommodated by the plurality of relay servers is changed by the server;
A terminal number investigation response step in which the plurality of relay servers transmit, to the transmission rate adjustment server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the own server in response to a terminal number investigation request sent from the transmission rate adjustment server; ,
A bandwidth adjustment method comprising: a transmission rate control step in which the plurality of relay servers transmit packets to the network at a transmission rate determined by the transmission rate adjustment server. A transmission rate adjustment server;
A transmission rate adjustment request means for transmitting a transmission rate adjustment request to the transmission rate adjustment server when there is a change in the number of terminal devices that are accommodated by each of the terminal devices, and the transmission rate adjustment server. Terminal number investigation response means for transmitting to the transmission rate adjustment server the number of terminal devices accommodated in its own server in response to the terminal number investigation request sent from the terminal, and the transmission determined by the transmission rate adjustment server A plurality of relay servers with transmission rate control means for transmitting packets to the network at a rate;
A transmission rate adjustment server in an on-line system comprising a host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via the network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server. Which is a program for realizing
The computer,
In response to the transmission rate adjustment request sent from the relay server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server is determined by transmitting a terminal number investigation request to the plurality of relay servers. Device number survey means to investigate every time,
Each time the number of terminal devices is investigated by the terminal number examining means, the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers to the network is proportional to the number of terminal devices for each relay server examined by the terminal number examining means, and A program for functioning as a transmission rate adjusting means for determining a transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers so that a total value of transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed a bandwidth of the network. A plurality of relay servers containing terminal devices;
A host computer connected to the plurality of relay servers via a network and processing a transaction request sent from the terminal device via the relay server;
In response to the transmission rate adjustment request sent from the relay server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the relay server is determined by transmitting a terminal number investigation request to the plurality of relay servers. The number of terminals surveyed every time, and the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers to the network each time the number of terminal devices is investigated by the number of terminals surveying means Transmission rate adjusting means for determining the transmission rate of each of the plurality of relay servers so that the total value of the transmission rates of the plurality of relay servers does not exceed the bandwidth of the network in proportion to the number of terminal devices for each. A program for realizing a relay server in an online system as a component by a computer,
The computer,
When there is a change in the number of terminal devices accommodated in the own server, transmission rate adjustment request means for transmitting a transmission rate adjustment request to the transmission rate adjustment server,
A terminal number investigation response means for transmitting, to the transmission rate adjustment server, the number of terminal devices accommodated in the own server in response to the terminal number investigation request sent from the transmission rate adjustment server;
A program for functioning as transmission rate control means for transmitting packets to the network at a transmission rate determined by the transmission rate adjustment server.

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